


Rule of Inference

by deplore



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-05 01:29:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12180255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deplore/pseuds/deplore
Summary: Corrin knows Leo's in love far before Leo knows it.“You don’t have to do anything to impress me, Felicia,” Leo says. “As I’ve said before, I think you’re quite a proficient soldier.”“Um, that’s not really what I meant… I’m happy to be of service in battle, of course! But I want to be proficient as a person, not just as a soldier,” Felicia replies, setting the tray down on one of the kitchen counters. “Maybe that doesn’t make sense, though…”There’s a pause; Leo can’t help but be taken off guard, because he didn’t expect Felicia to say something like that. It isn’t that he fails to understand the distinction that Felicia is trying to draw between her duty and her identity – if anything, he understands it very well himself. How could he not, when he spends so much time and effort trying to live up to all his roles (prince, mage, tactician, second son, liege, soldier – the list goes on and on – ) and constantly worry that people only perceive him by the titles he takes on and not the person he is?





	Rule of Inference

**Author's Note:**

  * For [astronomically](https://archiveofourown.org/users/astronomically/gifts).



> This takes place in between Leo/Felicia's A and S support conversations.

“Leo, you’ve really had your eyes on Felicia as of late, haven’t you?” Corrin asks, tilting her head over Leo’s desk, so that a few strands of her long hair fall on top of the book Leo has open between where the two of them are sitting.

Calmly, Leo moves his book closer to him, so that the stray locks are no longer obscuring the pages. “I suppose so,” he replies, leaving his response brief because he has a vague suspicion he’s being baited somehow.

“Well, just so you know, I won’t stand for it if you say anything upsetting to her,” Corrin says, but Leo can hear a distinct teasing tone to her voice. He frowns, scrunching his nose up a bit, not because her comment makes him feel like being snippy, but because he can’t discern why he’s being teased in the first place.

So he decides to ignore that for now and reply as if Corrin had spoken seriously. “It’s far from my intention to upset her,” he says. “If anything, I’m trying to help her out. It’s quite fascinating how agile she is on the battlefield and how incredibly uncoordinated she is otherwise – for her sake, and for the army’s monthly repairs budget, I asked her if I could try to assist her with retaining her poise in everyday life.”

“Oh,” Corrin replies, blinking a few times before smiling. “That’s actually rather nice of you!”

“The word _actually_ in your statement renders your compliment moot,” Leo informs her.

“Aw, you know what I mean,” Corrin says. “Anyway, Jakob’s tried that approach before and it didn’t work so well. I think it only stressed her out, so she ended up being clumsier than usual.”

“Your retainer doesn’t have dark magic to aide him,” Leo replies. “Dark magic _is_ the magic of the mind, after all. Though it’s often perceived as solely for inflicting violence, it can be used for more constructive purposes too, just like elemental magic.”

“I see… you really are going so far out of your way to help her, then.” There’s a pause, and then Corrin smiles even wider. “Well, good luck, Leo! Since it’s you, I’m sure that you’ll be able to do something about it.”

“That’s the plan,” Leo replies. “Now, could you kindly let me return to my studies?”

“Sure, but don’t study too hard,” Corrin says. “I bet you could get more inspiration if you worked with her directly.”

Leo hums contemplatively for a brief moment, and then says, “I’ll consider it.”

“Good!” Corrin replies, sounding strangely pleased with herself as she gets up to leave. “Then, good night, Leo.”

The fact that she seems so happy with herself for no readily identifiable reason makes Leo somewhat wary. But without any solid evidence to back up his intuition, Leo decides again to let that sleeping dog lie and concentrate instead on skimming through his book before his candlelight burns out for the night.

 

* * *

 

 

Taking up Corrin’s suggestion, Leo decides to watch Felicia as she tries to prepare a mid-morning tea the next day. _Try_ , unfortunately, is the operative word: she mostly ends up stumbling around the kitchen with even less coordination than she usually has when trying to do chores. Thanks to Leo’s intervention, though, she narrowly manages to avoid dropping a kettle, but she does spill her first completed teapot and is thus forced to redo the task from the beginning.

“Um, milord Leo?” Felicia says, voice warbling slightly with obvious anxiety as she watches over the kettle while it comes to a boil. “Do you need to watch so… intently?”

“Pay me no mind,” he replies. “I’m not judging you, merely observing. Just pretend like I’m not here.”

“That’s easier said than done!” Felicia says, drawing the tea serving tray she’s holding up to her chest, almost as if in protection. “It’s, well… it’s a little intimidating knowing that you’re watching… even if I know you’re not going to scold me like Gunter or Jakob would, I still want to impress you! But that’s making me mess up even more…”

By Leo’s count, Felicia’s tripped over her own feet at least four times more this morning than on average, so he mentally has to concede that these aren’t ideal conditions for observation. Still, he isn’t ready to give up yet – his hours of studying the night before will go to waste if he throws in the towel this quickly, or so he tells himself.

“You don’t have to do anything to impress me, Felicia,” he says. “As I’ve said before, I think you’re quite a proficient soldier.”

“Um, that’s not really what I meant… I’m happy to be of service in battle, of course! But I want to be proficient as a person, not just as a soldier,” Felicia replies, setting the tray down on one of the kitchen counters. “Maybe that doesn’t make sense, though…”

There’s a pause; Leo can’t help but be taken off guard, because he didn’t expect Felicia to say something like that. It isn’t that he fails to understand the distinction that Felicia is trying to draw between her duty and her identity – if anything, he understands it very well himself. How could he not, when he spends so much time and effort trying to live up to all his roles (prince, mage, tactician, second son, liege, soldier – the list goes on and on – ) and constantly worry that people only perceive him by the titles he takes on and not the person he is?

“I see,” he finally replies, mentally cursing how awkward he sounds. His words come out with a stilted rhythm, and he’s almost tongue-tied for what else to say. “It makes sense to me… I think. You wish to be seen for your whole self, not only as a soldier. Is that right?”

Felicia perks up, smiling brightly. “Right! That’s right. You put it much better than I did, Lord Leo.”

“In that case, I apologize,” Leo says. “I didn’t mean to be insensitive, though I realize I ended up saying something hurtful anyway.”

“It’s nothing to apologize over! I don’t mind – ” Felicia insists, overlapping with Leo’s continuation: “If it helps, I think you’re overall a…”

Both of them fall silent halfway through their sentences as they realize their mutual unintended interruptions. “You first,” Leo says, in the hopes of breaking their uncomfortable stalemate – but just then, the kettle begins whistling, going from soft to shrill in what feels like approximately two seconds.

“I’ll get it!” Felicia says before she jolts forward. Predictably enough, she promptly snags the toe of her foot on her other ankle and begins to fall, arms flailing as she tries in vain to catch herself in mid-air –

Leo lunges forward himself – it’s not as graceful as he’d like, but he manages to catch her by the waist before she plants her face into the floor. For a few moments, both of them freeze, and Leo can’t help but be very conscious of how close they are to each other. His face begins to warm up slightly as he thinks to himself that Felicia fits into his arms quite nicely, even at such a strange angle – he usually doesn’t like being touched more than what’s absolutely necessary, but he doesn’t mind the physical contact right now –

The sound of the kettle whistling becomes even more piercing, jolting Leo back into reality. He clears his throat and quickly helps Felicia up before taking the kettle off of the stove, turning back around and valiantly ignoring the fact that he’s fairly certain his cheeks are still pink to ask, “Are you alright, Felicia?”

“Yes! Yes, I’m perfectly fine,” Felicia says, fidgeting with her hands a little. She’s also blushing, Leo notes, but he firmly tells himself not to make anything of it. It would be rude to draw attention to somebody else’s embarrassment, after all. “Thanks to you, Lord Leo.”

“Don’t mention it,” Leo replies, uncertain of what else to say.

“I’ll finish up the new pot of tea, then! Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll do it right this time,” Felicia says, carefully picking up the teapot and strainer.

The atmosphere between them feels different now – more tense, though not in an unpleasant way. Leo watches quietly as Felicia goes through each step with slow deliberation and notes that she seems more relaxed somehow. There’s a subdued gracefulness to her movements that Leo’s come to expect from her on the battlefield but rarely comes through in any other situation; Leo somehow isn’t surprised that she manages to finish the task without any incident.

If anything, Felicia is the one who seems most shocked – after she takes the strainer out and puts the lid of the teapot back on, she sighs out of relief and exclaims, “I did it!”

“That’s great, Felicia,” Leo says. He’s not sure why, but her success makes him rather happy, and there’s an unfamiliar but warm feeling bubbling up in his chest.

“I’ll go serve it right away,” Felicia replies brightly, smiling from ear to ear. “Thank you for all your help, Lord Leo! I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Leo shakes his head and says, “No, it was your hard work.”

There’s more that he’d like to say, Leo thinks, but he doesn’t know how to express the emotions building within him when he doesn’t have any words to describe them. Normally, he’s sure he would find that somewhat vexing, but he’s not irritated at all. Instead, he has an unusually calm certainty that if he thinks about what he’s feeling for long and hard enough, he’s certain that he can figure out what they mean.

So for now, all he adds is, “You should probably bring that over to Corrin right away. It’s already rather late for a mid-morning break.”

“Right! I’ll get going, then,” Felicia says, placing the teapot on her tray and picking it up. “Take care, Lord Leo.”

Felicia’s already out the door before Leo has the chance to respond, but somehow, he find the eagerness of the exit a little charming, despite its abruptness.

 

* * *

 

 

That evening, Corrin drops by Leo’s room while he’s studying again. “Leo, I think your magic worked!” she tells him excitedly. “Felicia’s tea today – well, it wasn’t _good_ , exactly, but it wasn’t bad either. I could really taste the improvement.”

“That’s just the thing,” Leo replies. “I didn’t do anything… I just watched her. And yet, I also sensed that she was less clumsy than she normally is in the kitchen.”

“I see,” Corrin says, and then smiles a bit too smugly for Leo’s liking. “Well, I have my guess as to why that is. Care to hear it?”

“No, that’s alright. I’d like to think it through myself,” Leo replies, folding his hands and placing them on top of his desk. “The best kind of answer is one that you come up with on your own.”

Corrin’s expression softens; she reaches out from across the desk and pats Leo on his shoulder a few times. “That’s the spirit, Leo,” she says. “I bet you have a lot to consider, right? But you’ll figure it out sooner or later.”

“Of course I will,” Leo says. “But for now, I’ll just keep observing her.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Corrin agrees. “But, Leo… just so you know. When you find that answer, I promise you, I’ll support whatever you decide to do with it.”

“What a strange way to phrase a promise,” Leo replies, raising an eyebrow. “Still… even though you always pick the most peculiar times to start acting like a stereotypical older sibling, I appreciate your sentiment.”

“It’s because you don’t give me the opportunity very often. I like to take the chance when I get it!” Corrin says, smiling as she stands up. “Well, either way, that’s all I wanted to tell you… I’ll leave you to your studying, then. Good night, Leo.”

And yet, for the rest of the night – despite the fact that he’s been left in ideal conditions for reading, alone in the comfort of his room – Leo finds that he can’t concentrate on his book very well. Instead of the text, he can’t stop thinking instead about how happy Felicia was over something so simple and mundane. As his candle burns down, he stares contemplatively at the flickering flame.

“How strange,” he says aloud. “I think perhaps her happiness is what made me feel happy in turn.”

But Leo’s always been one to believe that slow and steady advancement is better than trying to search for a lightbulb epiphany. So the rest, Leo supposes, he’ll figure out tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> Felicia!Forrest has some beautiful hair (and stats n__n,,) and I usually end up pairing them together... plus Leo is so nice in this support chain _( :3 / That said, I wanted to write something in between the A and S conversations because of Fates' general tendency to go from 25% to 100% when it comes to getting married, ahaha.
> 
> If you'd like to see more of my writing, please check out my [carrd](http://deplore.carrd.co/)!


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